This article analyses voting behaviour in the South African election of 2009 and draws conclusions regarding the significance of party affiliation and issue-based voting in South Africa. It demonstrates the low level of voter registration and voter turnout. In the 2009 election the Independent Electoral Commission had problems with electoral management for the first time; however, it was able to prevent electoral violence. During the campaign the newly founded COPE focused on institutional reforms and the oppositional Democratic Alliance concentrated too much on negative campaigning. In the post-Mbeki era, the ANC has been able to reinvent itself by being the only party with a strong focus on pro-poor policies. Nevertheless, the lack of alternatives in electoral democracies may lead to alternative instruments of political action.